Description
Colors: Specimens less than 10 cm are silvery in color with many dark spots.

Body strongly compressed laterally, dorsal spines nil, soft rays 121; post-anal portion of body narrowing into a whip-like tail. Seven pterygophore before first neural spine and one or two pterygophore between first and second neural spines. First pterygophore closely applies to back of skull, no predorsal bones. Caudal fin well-developed, 4–10 unbranched rays parallel to axis of tail. All caudal rays borne on last ural centrum. No ventral caudal lobe. Fin rays with a lateral row of small spines, spines weak or absent on posterior pelvic rays, middle caudal rays and pectoral rays. Each dorsal ray anterior to elongated tail portion of body with a single laterally directed stout spine on either side of the base. Lateral line ends at caudal base, lateral-line scales with a pair of spines. Skin with cartilaginous tubercles and pierced by numerous pores which seems to be pores of the lateral line which is in agreement with Walters. Teeth restricted to one to four in each pre-maxilla and two enlarged, recurved fangs on mandible, one on either side of symphysis. Rakers of upper limb with few teeth. Pseudobranch well developed.

Zacharia, PU and Kannan, K (2012) First record of Polka-dot ribbonfish Desmodema polystictum (Pisces: Trachipteridae) from Indian waters Marine Biodiversity Records Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 5(8) 1-4 Available at - eprints.cmfri.org.in/8917/1/polka_dot_ribbonfish_zachariah.pdf

Society for the Management of European Biodiversity Data (2009) World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) Available at - http://www.marinespecies.org